Remarkably - it all went more smoothly than I had imagined. I got up about 9.00 and did some fiddling with food - Mark came down - then we all opened our stockings and enjoyed some breakfast in bed. We didn't have the cold ham and tongue - we are delaying them until Boxing Day and the 29th when my family come.
I prepared the veggies, put the turkey in the oven, gave the ham a brief baking to get the crust right - then we went down to the beach.
It was an unpromising day - a bit windy - light drizzle, with a touch of hail in the wind... so we wickedly drove.down to the beach - we rounded the corner of the former casino - aka the Royal Victoria Pavillion - and there were the usual suspects - perhaps fewer than in previous years, not everyone we expected to see - but it was great fun - and we spoke to a few people we didn't normally see - including a nice couple who are about to move to Wingham... also met two parents of friends of Finn's. I realise that as we are the parents of the "bad kids" we need to hang out together. Adam's mother was very pleased to meet me - and I saw a man I thought looked interesting and asked Jacqui who he was, she introduced me and he turned out to be Lily's father! They are currently renting a flat in the Regency while waiting to buy a house - I told him to look out for the brothel there!
Strange really for a woman who spends much of her time crouched over her laptop, I still know quite a lot about what's going on.
Mark and I have been to two parties - and are going to another today. I am beginning to feel "family" about some of my friends here - which is great - it's only taken about 3 years (most of them have only been here that long) - it is a weird and wonderful selection of people - although sometimes it's difficult to get a coherent/consistent conversation on any topic (perhaps that's because we're all drunk). I felt the most extraordinary feeling of happiness at Sue & Kit's party on Sunday - something I haven't felt for ages... and that was after only two glasses of wine and a great deal of water. We have been invited to a further two parties, a couple of "drinks" and are - unfortunately - hosting something ourselves. I am determined to treat this period as a holiday though.
Christmas Day continued perfectly. We came home, I put the spuds in the oven, the boys set the table and we all had drinks and opened our pressies. M and I were drinking the Cremant d'Alsace we'd bought in France and Finn had advocaat (he took a gin and tonic to the beach) and Ned had "ale"... we all had lovely presents - really, not a duff one at all I think. I was really pleased with my CDs from the boys - a Smiths compilation and a Rolling Stones Album... from 1975, so not the golden age, but enjoyable enough...
Just as I was entering the final stage of lunch Julian arrived and so we sat down and had a chat and another drink (some really nice Crianza I got from Sainsbury's). He gave us a couple of bottles of wine, I gave him and Michelle a sun-catcher in the shape of a yacht... a number of sun-catchers have been given this year!
We then had lunch. It was delicious, I think because we hadn't had a proper hot meal for some days (on Christas Eve we had blinis and smoked salmon and red caviar (yummmm). We did not have Christmas pudding - instead we had the bakewell cheesecake that the boys adore - I was only going to have a tiny bit, but it was so delicious I had more (however, I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day except a couple of Belgian chocolates and two clementines, and I stopped drinking too).
After lunch some washing up was performed and M and I settled down to watch telly - the programme about Sister Wendy - during which I dozed off - we then watched a chunk of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Incredibles. This prompted me to read some of the Silmarillion, which I have never read - I ploughed through it, but was rather underwhelmed - I have come across a lot of these creation ideas before, and adding a few "ere"s and "unto"s into the mix just add to the unreadability. I may read a bit more, but it seemed so uninteresting: God creates a lot of sub-deities to help him create the world, through singing it into being - one of them turns bad and puts a spanner in the good works of the others.... now read on. I'm sure it becomes more complex and subtle later - but I am also discovering the truth about made up languages, that it is harder to engage with them than with real languages. Of course there are lots of echoes of Scandiwegian eeriness, Middle earth = Midgard etc. but some of the names are just unattrattive.
But enough of that. Sometimes I think just 4 of us doing Christmas together isn't enough - but going out and seeing people adds to it. I am very sorry we didn't get to church. I was planning to go to Midnight Mass at St. Pugin's (sung latin!) but was too knackered - so went to bed, then couldn't sleep - so saw a tv Mass instead - but it's not the same. However, as I am not living under the lash of the Magisterium, whether I go to church or not is my choice - and although I enjoy it for lots of reasons - mostly tradition and sentiment - it isn't absolutely essential. However, that said, I feel a bit closer to God than usual at this time - so perhaps I don't need a church service to prompt it.
Going out now to enjoy a bit of God's good creation with a walk to the Pegwell Beach.
I prepared the veggies, put the turkey in the oven, gave the ham a brief baking to get the crust right - then we went down to the beach.
It was an unpromising day - a bit windy - light drizzle, with a touch of hail in the wind... so we wickedly drove.down to the beach - we rounded the corner of the former casino - aka the Royal Victoria Pavillion - and there were the usual suspects - perhaps fewer than in previous years, not everyone we expected to see - but it was great fun - and we spoke to a few people we didn't normally see - including a nice couple who are about to move to Wingham... also met two parents of friends of Finn's. I realise that as we are the parents of the "bad kids" we need to hang out together. Adam's mother was very pleased to meet me - and I saw a man I thought looked interesting and asked Jacqui who he was, she introduced me and he turned out to be Lily's father! They are currently renting a flat in the Regency while waiting to buy a house - I told him to look out for the brothel there!
Strange really for a woman who spends much of her time crouched over her laptop, I still know quite a lot about what's going on.
Mark and I have been to two parties - and are going to another today. I am beginning to feel "family" about some of my friends here - which is great - it's only taken about 3 years (most of them have only been here that long) - it is a weird and wonderful selection of people - although sometimes it's difficult to get a coherent/consistent conversation on any topic (perhaps that's because we're all drunk). I felt the most extraordinary feeling of happiness at Sue & Kit's party on Sunday - something I haven't felt for ages... and that was after only two glasses of wine and a great deal of water. We have been invited to a further two parties, a couple of "drinks" and are - unfortunately - hosting something ourselves. I am determined to treat this period as a holiday though.
Christmas Day continued perfectly. We came home, I put the spuds in the oven, the boys set the table and we all had drinks and opened our pressies. M and I were drinking the Cremant d'Alsace we'd bought in France and Finn had advocaat (he took a gin and tonic to the beach) and Ned had "ale"... we all had lovely presents - really, not a duff one at all I think. I was really pleased with my CDs from the boys - a Smiths compilation and a Rolling Stones Album... from 1975, so not the golden age, but enjoyable enough...
Just as I was entering the final stage of lunch Julian arrived and so we sat down and had a chat and another drink (some really nice Crianza I got from Sainsbury's). He gave us a couple of bottles of wine, I gave him and Michelle a sun-catcher in the shape of a yacht... a number of sun-catchers have been given this year!
We then had lunch. It was delicious, I think because we hadn't had a proper hot meal for some days (on Christas Eve we had blinis and smoked salmon and red caviar (yummmm). We did not have Christmas pudding - instead we had the bakewell cheesecake that the boys adore - I was only going to have a tiny bit, but it was so delicious I had more (however, I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day except a couple of Belgian chocolates and two clementines, and I stopped drinking too).
After lunch some washing up was performed and M and I settled down to watch telly - the programme about Sister Wendy - during which I dozed off - we then watched a chunk of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Incredibles. This prompted me to read some of the Silmarillion, which I have never read - I ploughed through it, but was rather underwhelmed - I have come across a lot of these creation ideas before, and adding a few "ere"s and "unto"s into the mix just add to the unreadability. I may read a bit more, but it seemed so uninteresting: God creates a lot of sub-deities to help him create the world, through singing it into being - one of them turns bad and puts a spanner in the good works of the others.... now read on. I'm sure it becomes more complex and subtle later - but I am also discovering the truth about made up languages, that it is harder to engage with them than with real languages. Of course there are lots of echoes of Scandiwegian eeriness, Middle earth = Midgard etc. but some of the names are just unattrattive.
But enough of that. Sometimes I think just 4 of us doing Christmas together isn't enough - but going out and seeing people adds to it. I am very sorry we didn't get to church. I was planning to go to Midnight Mass at St. Pugin's (sung latin!) but was too knackered - so went to bed, then couldn't sleep - so saw a tv Mass instead - but it's not the same. However, as I am not living under the lash of the Magisterium, whether I go to church or not is my choice - and although I enjoy it for lots of reasons - mostly tradition and sentiment - it isn't absolutely essential. However, that said, I feel a bit closer to God than usual at this time - so perhaps I don't need a church service to prompt it.
Going out now to enjoy a bit of God's good creation with a walk to the Pegwell Beach.
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